Cancer/Alcohol

I thought this was interesting as the question came up regarding wine and cancer. I still think one has to do what they are comfortable with.
There are many drugs we use with side effects that can cause cancer and we take them as prescribed by our doctors so is alcohol all that bad? Hugs, Sandy


Study Provides Clues to Alcohol's Cancer Connection

For the first time scientists have demonstrated a model that may explain how alcohol stimulates tumor growth. Their study, published in the journal Cancer, says alcohol fuels the production of a growth factor that stimulates blood vessel development in tumors, and that chronic ethanol increased tumor size and levels of the angiogenic factor and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in an experimental model.

For almost a hundred years mounting epidemiological evidence has linked alcohol use to an increased risk of cancers of the stomach, esophagus, liver, breast, and colon. Researchers have never developed an adequate model to explain how ethanol or a metabolite of ethanol may cause cancer. Hypotheses abound, and include such diverse theories as acetaldehyde carcinogenicity, dietary imbalances, and impaired nutrient metabolism and detoxification due to alcohol consumption, activation of precancerous enzymes, and suppression of the immune system.

Recent data in a cellular model has demonstrated that ethanol increases cellular production of VEGF, an important signaling protein in blood vessel growth, particularly in tumors. Jian-Wei Gu. M.D. from the University of Mississippi Medical Center and colleagues further investigated the possible mechanism between ethanol-induced blood vessel growth and VEGF using a chick embryo model. The investigators exposed chick embryos inoculated with fibrosarcoma cells to saline or physiologically relevant levels of ethanol for nine days.

The investigators found that compared to the saline control group, the embryos exposed to ethanol experienced increases in tumor size, tumor blood vessel density, cancer cell infiltration of blood vessels, and VEGF levels. Tumor volume and intratumoral vascular volume more than doubled. There was also a significant dose-related increase in VEGF mRNA and protein expression in tumors and cultured cells. Embryos exposed to ethanol had more than eight times the level of cancer cell invasion of blood vessels compared to the control group.

The authors say their findings "support the hypothesis that the induction of angiogenesis and VEGF expression by ethanol represent an important mechanism of cancer progression associated with alcoholic beverage consumption."

SOURCE:
Cancer, January 15, 2004

Hi group:
Another article on BC and alcohol use with rather good news for those of us who enjoy a glass of wine now and then :)

Moderate Drinking Appears to Have Little Effect on Breast Cancer Risk

In an effort to clarify the relationship between alcohol consumption and the risk of developing breast cancer, a study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research examined the influence of alcohol intake and type of beverage (beer, wine or spirits) on breast cancer in relation to menopausal status.

The findings support previous research showing that heavy drinking increases the risk for breast cancer, predominantly among premenopausal women; however, this risk exists independent of alcohol type. Light-to-moderate drinking appears to have little effect on a woman's risk for breast cancer.

"For a number of years, it has been known that a high alcohol intake implies an increased risk of breast cancer," said Morten Grønbæk, professor of alcohol research at the Centre for Alcohol Research at the National Institute of Public Health in Denmark. "The ongoing discussion has been whether or not there is an increased risk among light-to-moderate drinkers as well."

Grønbæk added that he and his colleagues chose to examine what effects the type of alcohol may play in cancer development due to some of their earlier research. "In quite a few previous studies, we have suggested that wine drinkers, in contrast to beer and spirits drinkers, seem to be at a lower risk for some cancers such as upper digestive tract cancer, lung cancer and colon cancer," he said. "There are several plausible biological mechanisms which may explain this, including the fact that wine comprises flavonoids and resveratrol, which have been shown to have 'anti-carcinogenic' properties."

In addition, said Grønbæk, "the reason for looking at menopausal status is that it is very likely that development of breast cancer may have different etiologies depending on hormonal status, and this may be influenced by alcohol intake."

For this study, researchers used data gathered through the Copenhagen Centre for Prospective Population Studies, a six-cohort examination of health-related issues. The study population comprised 13,074 women, aged 20 to 91 years. Researchers used self-administered questionnaires to ask about alcohol intake, smoking habits, weight and height, physical activity in leisure time, children, use of hormone replacement therapy, menopausal status, and educational levels. The women's health was tracked until diagnosis of breast cancer, death, or end of follow-up for other reasons, whichever came first.

Analysis indicates that alcohol consumption of more than 27 drinks per week - considered heavy drinking - increases the risk of breast cancer in premenopausal women, independent of alcohol type.

"Our study confirms earlier reports that heavy alcohol consumption is a risk for breast cancer," said Grønbæk, "In this case, mainly among premenopausal women. The second main finding is that there seems to be no difference in the effect of the different types of alcohol, which indicates that it is ethanol itself and not the type of drink that is responsible for breast-cancer development."

"In addition," added R. Curtis Ellison, professor of medicine & public health and director of the Institute on Lifestyle & Health at Boston University School of Medicine, "I believe this study demonstrates very well that light-to-moderate drinking of alcohol has very little effect on a woman's risk of breast cancer. These findings support the results of numerous other studies showing that an increase in breast-cancer risk, if present, is very slight. The study also has enough moderate drinkers of wine in it to be able to say that it does not support the protection against breast cancer from wine consumption."

Grønbæk concurs. "Based on our results, the average reader should not worry too much about light-to-moderate intake, say, in the area of one to two drinks per day."

"For those women who consume alcohol moderately and responsibly," added Ellison, "this study should help reassure them that they are not having much of an effect on their risk of breast cancer; on the other hand, they are reducing markedly their risk of coronary artery disease and stroke, much more common causes of death than breast cancer. For women who are drinking heavily, this study suggests that they may be increasing their risk of breast cancer. However, there are many other adverse effects of heavy drinking that should also be considered when making decisions about alcohol consumption. Furthermore, there are no data showing [any] beneficial health effects of heavy drinking."

SOURCES:
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, July 2004
National Institute of Public Health, Denmark (http://www.niph.dk)
Boston University School of Medicine (http://www.bu.edu)

Both articles are interesting to me - thanks for posting them. For better or worse I do have to pay attention to whether to use alcohol, along with other aspects of my diet. I've never been a drinker, mostly because hard alcohol tastes awful to me, and because I fall asleep after just one beer or one glass of wine.

But just prior to bc diagnosis and ever since, I have had slightly abnormal liver tests as well as a few others, and I am being evaluated now for this and so am avoiding all alcohol.

So I would suggest that anyone who has abnormal liver function tests may need to be more cautious about use of alcohol even though they may not have symptoms of liver disease.

A.A.